About

If you stopped me on the street and asked me to tell you about myself, I’d say, “I am a working mom.” If you asked me what I like to do to relax and kick back with my family, I’d say, “Prepare family meals.”

A few years ago, I probably would have told you that I was a Greek-American attorney, a Penn Stater through and through, and a Western Pennsylvania girl at heart. Although I am still all of those things, being a mom is my life’s greatest treasure. My happiest moments are spent in my kitchen with my kids all around me as I make them meals inspired by my Greek roots and my love for Italian food. (I’m so glad my husband is Italian, so we eat Mediterranean meals nearly every day!)

In 2010, we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy. When he was nearly one year old, we found out that I was expecting again. Almost nine months later, our precious twin daughters were born. Yes, I had three children in nineteen months!! Sometimes it still catches my breath…when I actually have a moment to think about it! Call us crazy, but we decided to try and have another little bundle of joy…and we did!!! We were blessed with another daughter in February of 2015. The net result is a very passionate, loud and hungry household. We live every day outloud with lots of LOVE.

Always busy and committed to our growing family, I’ve managed to stay committed to my career as an attorney as well. While I’ve enjoyed a wide breath of experience practicing law, I now have my own law practice, www.ziccarellilaw.com. Throughout my career, I’ve worked for the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, a large firm based in Pittsburgh, the former Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the U.S.-China Security and Economic Review Commission, small businesses, a Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas Judge, and am now a sole practicioner in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. As a working mom, I practice a great deal of family law these days, and am more committed than ever to my clients and advocating for and respecting their lives and the rule of law.

I am also committed to the community in which we live. I serve on the board of the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children, which works to support high-quality care and education for young children from birth until age nine across 10 counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania, including Westmoreland. I also serve on the Advisory Board of our local Penn State campus, only a few minutes away from our home.

Mediterranean Baby has become a creative outlet for me to document and share the love I express for my family and friends through food every day. I’ve also been able to incorporate some of my experience as a mom of four children. I share some of my experience in the courtroom as well, hoping to share valuable information about the law that may not always be readily available or easy to understand.

My goal is to inspire you to create Mediterranean meals for your entire family with simple, fresh and real ingredients, despite our busy lives and careers. I hope it will inspire you to commit to meal time with family and friends. Afterall, family and friends are our greatest source of support and it’s important to nurish those relationships!

Just remember, we can’t do it all, all of the time, but we can do what we’re doing efficiently and more simply with lots of LOVE!

21 Responses to About

Hi Nicole! We graduated PSU-Dickinson together many moons ago, though you may not remember me. I stumbled across this blog while looking for Greek recipes that were kid-friendly. I was scrolling through, saw your photo and thought, “Hey, I know that girl!” Congratulations on all you’ve accomplished, professionally and with your beautiful family!

Hi Nicole,
I am Polina from KptnCook – the 911 App for daily question “What’s for dinner tonight?”. We help people instantly discover healthy meals with a twist and keep up motivation to experiment more. Your Spinach Tagliatelle with Baby Bellas in a Sweet Vermouth Cream Sauce is exactly the type we would love to feature in KptnCook App and of course all credit will go to you!
Our biggest aim is to make cooking a daily habit! We want people discover the creativity and talent of food bloggers not only on weekends when they have spare time, but also on busy weekdays.
We’re launching KptnCook App for the U.S. this week and are currently preparing our cooking plan! Yes, we cook all recipes we’ve selected:)
I am looking forward to hearing from you!
Polina

So nice to see you the other day at the Courthouse. I love this site! I particularly interested in making baby food for my grandson when he starts on solids – we’re getting close – he’s almost 4 months! Any ideas you have as to foods and prep will certainly be appreciated. Best! M2